Philosophy of Pragmatism: A Secret to the Good Life
Act as if what you do makes a difference
Widely heralded as the father of American psychology, William James is just as much known for his refreshing strain of philosophy known as pragmatism. Not a fan of theoretical excess, James reduced his ideas down to what worked for the individual.
Unlike many philosophers, he wasn’t nearly as tortured by the absorbing question What is life? and instead, chose to pivot to the more practical inquiry What helps make life worth living?
No doubt his role as a psychologist fielding the anxieties, neuroses and stories of his clients encouraged him to cast the human as the proper nucleus of philosophy. What better way to test the merits of various “genres” of philosophy than by testing how the individual functioned with them?
That is to say, James believed good philosophy was what improved the psychological health of a person. Depressing, pointless, and overly abstract theorizing didn’t help a person cope with life and certainly didn’t inspire meaning or happiness.
